Clothes wringer



G. W. LEWIS.

CLOTHES WRINGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1920.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922..

2 SHEEIS-SHEET 1- GI WI CLOTHES WRINGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAYH, 1920.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W WMIWZZ QFFICE.

GEORGE W. LEWIS, 0F GRINN'ELL, lIOW A, ASSIGNOR TO GRINNELL WASHING MACHINE COMPANY, OF GRINNELL, IOWA, A CORPORATION.

CLOTHES "WRINGER.

LtiLMS.

- Application filed my 11,

To all whom it may concern Be it knownv that I, GEORGE W. Lewis, a citizen otthe United States, and resident of Grinncll, in the county of Poweshiek and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Clothes Wringe-r, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of clothes wringers intended for use in connection with so-called power washing machines, and in which the wringer is operated by powerfrom an electric motor or the like, instead of by hand.

The objects of my invention are:

To provide a wringer of this class, of simple, durable and inexpensive construction and of neat and attractive appearance," and so arranged that in the event that the operators hand should become caught between the wringer roll, or clothes should become caught 01 entangled around one of the wringer rolls, the operator may quickly and easily, by touching a lever, instantly separate the wringer rolls and remove all pressure therefrom, so that the o-pe-rators hand or the entangled clothes may be quickly disengaged without damage or in- J Flore specifically, in'this connectionfit is my object to provide a device of this class in which the separation thus effected shall be along a central line between the two wringer rolls, so that all of the spring tension device that is ordinarily applied to the upper roll will be carried by the upper half of the frame when this separation is made, and so'that when the operators hand, or the clothes, have been disengaged from the wringer rolls, the device may again be put in condition for operation by simply pressing downwardly upon the upper half of the frame and moving it to its normal position for use, and without the necessity of readjusting the tension screws of the spring tension device.

A further ob-ject is to provide an improved means for adjusting the tension of the upper wringer roll, especially designed for use in connection with a wringer that is capable of separation on a central line between the rolls.

Still a further object is to provide an improved releasing device of simple, durable and inexpensive construction, s0 arranged that it may be released quickly and easily by moving the lever in any direction, so that Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. a, 11922.

1920. Serial 1%. 380,656.

theoperator need not remember which particular direction the lever should be moved in in order to separate the rolls.

Still a further object is to provide an improved d'rain board for a wringer of this class, capable of being quickly and easily reversed in its position, to drain the water 111 either direction from the wringer roll.

Still a further object is to provide an lmproved frame for a wringer of this class, which forms a clothes guide and protector for the wringer rolls, and whereby the dan- 'ger of having the operators hand become caught in the wringer rolls is reduced to a minimum.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a wringer embodying my invention, partly in section.

, Figure 2 shows a sectional view on-the line 2-2 of Figure 1.. v

Figure 3 shows a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, the drain board being shownby dotted lines in a reversed position.

Figure 4 shows an enlarged. detail, sectional view, illustrating the spring latch device.

Figure 5 shows an enlarged, detail, sectional view through the transverse centralportion ofthe upper part of the wringer,

to illustrate the arrangement of the tension spring and bearings for the rolls.

Figure 6 shows an enlarged, detail sectional view of the drain board. 1

Figure 7 shows an enlarged, detail secupper wringer tional view on the line 7-7 of Figure 6;

and r Figure 8 shows a reduced, side elevation of the wringer, with the upper section thereof elevated above the lower section.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

1 have usedthe reference numeral 10 to indicate "a bracket upon WlllCh the entire wringer is supported. This bracket may be secured to a stationary or movable support,

as desired.

Formed on or fixed to this bracket is the lower wringer roll section of the frame, 1.v

after appear. I lower body portion are cut away at 13 so as to expose through the opening thus formed, only the upper half of the lower wringer roll, and 'to enclose the ends of the wringer roll so that the operators hand or clothlng cannot enter beneath the lower roll or between the ends of the lower roll and-the ends of the frame, and so that the upper part of this body portion vwill serve as a clothes guide upon which the operator may rest her fingers when inserting clothes between th wringer rolls.

Formed on the interior of the lower. body portionll, near the ends thereof, are the arallel vertical ribs 14, designed to. receive between them andto serve as guides for, the bearing frames 15 for the lower wringe-r roll.

, These bearing frames are of the ordinary construction, and are not herein specifically shown or described. They are, however shaped to bereceive'd between andsupported by said ribs 14. The lower wringer roll is indicated bythe numeral 16, and its shaft by the numeral17.

- It is arranged to be driven by power in the ordinary manner, not here shown. I

The upper frame member is indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 18, and is like the lowerone except'that it'is inverted. It. is connected at one end by the hinged member 19 to the bracket 10. It is providedon its interior, at each end, with the vertical, parallel ribs 20, between which the bearing devices 21 of the upper wringer roll ma move vertically to a limited extent.

the numeral 22, and its shaft by the numeral The 'tensioning device for the wringer comprises a leaf spring of arched form,1n-

dicated by the numeral 24. Its central portion rests against the top of the upper'frame memberbetween the lugs 25 wh ch .hold it p in line.- Its ends extend outwardly and wrlnger roll.

downwardly,and rest upon the top of the N wringer-roll bearing frame '21, to thereby normally; exert a yielding pressure downwardly upon the bearings of the. upper For adjusting thef'tens ion of the upper roll, I have provided at each side of the upperframe'member a screw '26 seated in the yoke 27 which is formedon or fixed to the upper bearing frame member 21, as

' shown in Figure 2.- When said screw is turned to raise the yoke, the tension 'ofthe. upper wrmger' roll is reduced, and when it is moved in the opposite direction the tension'upon the upper wringer roll is increased. By thisarrangement it is obvious that when the upper frame member is separated from the lower one, as shown in Figure 8, the tension of the spring and the position of the upper roll and its bearingare not changed relative to the frame, so that when the wringer is thus separated it can be readily and easily returned to its normal position without any manipulation of thespring adj usting screws.

I have provideda releasing device of simple and inexpensive construction, as follows:

Mounted in suitable bearings 'on one side of the frame member is a shaft' 28 having a handle 29 extended u wardly and outwardly beyond the end of t e wringer frame. On the part of this shaft that extends inside of the wringer frame is a fiat latch releasing its lug 32, as

clearly shown in the enlarged sectional view in Figure 4. I

By this arrangement it. is obvious that when the handle 29 of the shaft 28 is moved in either direction, the latch 30 will be disengaged from' its lug 32, and the upper frame member will immediately spring upwardly by reason of the tension on the upper roller, and the device will thus'be separatedto the position shown in Figure 8. Then when the operators hand is removed from the handle 29, the upper wringer frame member may be moved downwardly and the spring 33 will cause the latch to first move I, the handle 29 ton. neutral position; and then he upper wrlnger roll is indicated by] it will engage with its coacting lug 32 and lock-the upper frame member.

so that this drainboard may be tilted to either of the positions shown in Figure 3.

v For holding the drain board in either of,

these positions shown'in Figure 3, I have provided in the bottom. portion of the frame Y member 11 a spring actuated bolt 37, deslgned to engage a rib 38 formed on an excompress the spring of the bolt 37 until the tension39 at one side of the drain board member above its pivot point, as clearly shown 1n Figures 6 and 7. By this arrangerib has passed the bolt, and then' the spring 1,41 rate will again extend the bolt and hold it locked in either of its said positions.

In Figure 8 of the drawings l have shown an electric lamp 4:0, mounted in a socket formed in the upper frame member. This is a great convenience in connection with a machine of this kind, and avoids accidents due to insufficient lighting around the .wringer when it is in use.

in practical use, and assuming that the wring-er frame is in its closed position, the wringer is operated in the ordinary man ner power, and thetension of the upper roll may be readily and easily adjusted by the adjusting screws 26.

if at any time an article should become caught or entangled in the wringer rolls, the operator may, by merely touching the handle 29, and moving it in either direction, cause the upper wringer roll and the upper part of the frame to instantly separate from the lower part, which instantly relieves the tension and permits the withdrawal of the article. hi hen this is done the upper wringer roll, bearings and the tension spring are all retained in their normal position, and then the device may be pressed downwardly to closed position, and latched, without the necessity of readjusting the spring tension device.

I claim as my invention:

1. wringer comprising a lower and an upper frame member hinged together at one end, a releasable latch device for connecting them at their free ends, a roll in each frame, sliding bearings for the upper roll, an adjustable spring tension device carriedby the upper frame member and normally ererting a yielding pressuredownwardly upon the upper roll, and means for limitin the downward movement of the upper roll, for the purposes stated. I

2. In a clothes wringer, the,combination of a frame divided along a substantially central horizontal line, the upper part being hinged to the lower part at one end, a wringer roll mounted in cachpart of the frame, a latch device for securing the free ends of the frame together, said latchdevice comprisinga latch hinged to one of the frame members, a lu g on the other frame member to coact with the latch, a s ring for the latch, a shaft mounted in the rame member adjacent to the latch and having a' fiat surface designed-to engage the latch, and when turned in either direction to meve the latch away from the lug, and a handle connected with said shaft, said parts being so arranged that when the handle is moved in either direction the latch will be released.

3. In a clothes wringer, the combination of a frame divided along a substantially central horizontal line, the upper part being hinged to the lower part at one end, a wrmger roll mounted in each part of the frame, a latch device for securing the free ends of the frame together, a roller spring tension device mounted in the upper frame member and designed to press downwardly upon the upper roll, and means for limiting the downward movement of the upper roll so that when the parts of the frame member are separatedthe wringer roll and the tension spring will remain in position.

t. In a clothes wringer, the combination of a lower frame'member substantially semicircular in cross-section, an upper frame member hinged thereto at one end, and also substantially semi-circular and cross-section, said frame members having at their opposite sides openings to permit the insertion of clothes between the wringer rolls, the margins ofsaid openings being designed to serve as clothes guides for the operator, and the sides of said frame members adjacent to said openings being shaped to cover the endsof the wringerrolls, the upper part of the upper roll and the lower part of the lower roll, and means for releasably securing the free ends of said frame members.

5. In a clothes wringer, thecombination of upper and lower frame members hinged together at one end, a roller mounted in the lower frame member, a roller in the upper frame member, bearing members for the upper frame members, a yoke secured to each of said upper bearing members, adjusting screws mounted in the upper frame member, seated in said yokes, and a spring tension device connected with the upper frame member and also with the upper bearing'members, for the purposes stated.

6. In a clothes wringer, the combination of upper and lower frame members hinged together atone end, a roller mounted in the lower. frame member, a roller in the upper frame member, bearing members in the upper frame members, a yoke secured to each of said upperbearing members, adjusting screws mounted in the upper frame member, seated in said yokes, and a spring tension device connected with the upper frame member and also with the upper hearing members, said upper frame member being formed with vertical parallel guides in which said roller bearing members are slidingly supported.

'7. The combination with a wringer frame having downwardly extending. lugs thereon, of a reversible drain board pivotally supported in said downwardly extending-lugs, one end of said drain board being provided with an upwardly extending projection formed with a vertical rib, and a spring actuated bolt mounted in the lower frame member to coact with the rib for locking the drain board in different positions of its adjustment.

Des Moines, Iowa, A ril 20, 1920.

- GEO GE W. LEWIS. 

